David Paez

David was born in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. As the son of a naval officer, David attended a number of schools in a few different cities of Ecuador, and the family even moved to Santiago, Chile for a year and a half.

His mother is from the Galápagos Islands, however, and every holiday was spent visiting his grandparents in San Cristóbal Island, the one place on earth that has always held his heart.

Before starting his undergraduate studies, David participated in an exchange student program for one month in Franklin, North Carolina. Since then, he regularly travels to the U.S. to visit his host family as well as to visit all the new friends he has made over the years while working in the Galápagos. Following the exchange program, he attended to the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) where he completed a degree in biology in 2008. During the course of his studies, David traveled wildly within Ecuador, conducting field visits and learning how life develops and feeling great joy in nature.

Due to his curiosity and passion for the natural world, in particular evolution and ecology in the Galápagos Islands, David decided to become a naturalist guide. He was licensed by the Galápagos National Park Service in March of 2009. Since then, he enjoys walking along the trails of this unique national park, explaining to visitors what is really happening in this spectacular laboratory of evolution known as Galápagos.